baba

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbɑːbɑː/ UK /ˈbɑːbɑː/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a small rum-soaked sponge cake; also a term for father or old man

They served a rum baba glistening with syrup for dessert.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small rum-soaked sponge... father papa

Word family

Related forms babka

Etymology

Of multiple origins: as a cake, from French baba, from Polish baba ('old woman, grandmother'); as a kinship term, from a widespread nursery word baba ('father, old man') found across many languages.

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# baba

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɑːbɑː/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɑːbɑː/

## Meanings
1. a small rum-soaked sponge cake; also a term for father or old man

## Examples
- They served a rum baba glistening with syrup for dessert.

## Synonyms
- father
- papa

## Related Forms
- babka

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: baba

## Etymology
Of multiple origins: as a cake, from French baba, from Polish baba ('old woman, grandmother'); as a kinship term, from a widespread nursery word baba ('father, old man') found across many languages.

## AI Etymology
Baba is of multiple origins: as a cake, from French baba, from Polish baba ('old woman, grandmother'); as a kinship term, from a widespread nursery word baba ('father, old man') found across many languages. Important recorded forms include baba (Polish). The current sense covers a small rum-soaked sponge cake; also a term for father or old man. The wider family includes related words such as babka.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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